Senate Republicans scrambled Monday to try to win back their own GOP lawmakers wavering over the tax-cut bill as prospects dimmed for a floor vote this week.
Sen. Steve Daines of Montana became the second Republican to say he can’t vote for the measure as it stands, echoing the concerns of Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. Both Republicans said they want a better deal for small businesses.
“Before I can support this bill, this improvement needs to be made,” Mr. Daines said. “I remain optimistic and will continue working with my colleagues to find a solution.”
The two lawmakers bring the GOP, with control of just 52 seats in the Senate, to the breaking point.
A third defection would sink the package.
“We’re just going to continue to make progress minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said late Monday. “But we’re not there yet.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch indicated lawmakers, despite earlier hopes, might not get the package through the full Senate this week.
“We’re working at it. I think in the end, we’ll put it together,” he said. “I think people want to finish it by Friday, but who knows?”
The GOP did win backing from Sen. Rand Paul, a key conservative, and Sen. James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, said changes are in the works to win over holdouts.
“This is not a finished product,” Mr. Lankford told reporters Monday. “This is a product that’s still coming together.”
The House and Senate tax plans both slash the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent and create new benefits for smaller “pass-through” companies that pay their taxes at often higher individual rates.
But exactly which companies stand to benefit depends on complicated formulas that are different in both plans. People like Mr. Daines and Mr. Johnson — both businessmen before entering the Senate — say the new benefits might not be enough.
For his part, Mr. Lankford is also among several senators who have expressed concerns about the effect the $1.4 trillion-plus package will have on long-term federal deficits, and said he’s eyeing some sort of revenue “backstop” if Republican predictions about associated economic growth don’t come to pass.
“The backstop piece for me is the ’just in case,’” he said. “Every economist is guessing it is a well-educated guess, but every economist is guessing.”
Several key senators met with President Trump at the White House on Monday to go over the plans, and said they’re hopeful the GOP can keep to its self-imposed timeline of getting a package to Mr. Trump’s desk by the end of the year.
Mr. Hatch, Utah Republican, said the process would go more smoothly if Democrats would “get off their duff” and work with the GOP on the legislation, rather than remain in lockstep opposition.
Asked whether he thought he bill would get final approval before Mr. Trump’s Christmas deadline, Mr. Hatch said, “I hope so.”
Mr. Hatch’s committee has already advanced its plan, which also slashes tax rates for individuals while eliminating various exemptions like the state and local tax deduction.
The next stop is a vote in the Senate Budget Committee, which is slated to take up the matter on Tuesday.
Mr. Johnson said Monday if there’s no fix for small businesses, he plans to vote against the measure in committee, according to The Associated Press.
With Republicans holding a 12-11 advantage, a no vote from Mr. Johnson in committee would be enough to at least delay the proceedings in order to get the language he wants.
In addition to Mr. Lankford, GOP senators Bob Corker of Tennessee — also a budget committee member — and Jeff Flake of Arizona have expressed concerns about the tax plan’s effect on the federal debt.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has also said she thinks it’s a mistake to include a repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate in the broader tax package, saying the two issues should be dealt with separately.
But those senators have not yet drawn red lines as Mr. Daines or Mr. Johnson have. And GOP leaders did get a boost Monday when Mr. Paul — a potential wild card who had lobbied for even deeper tax cuts — said he plans to support the package.
“I’m not getting everything I want — far from it,” the Kentucky Republican wrote in an opinion piece for Fox News. “But I’ve been immersed in this process. I’ve fought for and received major changes for the better — and I plan to vote for this bill as it stands right now.”
The full House passed its own, similar package earlier this month.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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